January 14th, 2006
Strathpuffer 0.5 “They can hear you on the moon”
A head popped through the open window of the Naegears motorhome and offered the above complaint. It also added that “Some of us have to race tomorrow”. As we also had to race tomorrow and were preparing for a night of staying up late by, well, staying up late we were too indifferent to have a snappy response. So we continued drinking.
Earlier that day…
As predicted my morning consisted of fettling tyres and pedals, and stuffing as many warm clothes into my bag as possible. Conscious that we would be in a cramped motorhome and may have to park the car off site I packed little else.
As I drove further North that afternoon the drizzle cleared and by the time I lost all radio reception in the Cairngorms the sky was clear and the temperature was, compared to home, actually rather balmy.
Straight into the Achilty Hotel to meet the team I was delighted to see Phil ‘The Horse’, drinking - can it be true? - orange juice. He’s looking fit ready for a solo effort. The rest of team Naegears are on the black stuff. Mel and Shaggy are flying into Edinburgh and expected just after midnight.
The Dark Marquis has arranged for the aforementioned team motorhome and when we are finally evicted from the bar we cram the team into the car and head for our weekend living. The woods are spooky in the clear night skies - and we have to race through them for about 18 hours in these conditions. Have you ever seen Dog Soldiers?
Mel and Shaggy arrive just after midnight and the van is filled with recollections and friends. The rest is a haze of beer and goldschlager.
Wake me up before the start will you.
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